Bacabac Marion Michael A, Aurellado Maria Eleanor B, Fetil Jesus Gabriel C, Pereira Clarisse Anne B, Camacho Ma Vivian C, Ticzon Victor S
Institute of Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines Los Baños, College, Laguna, Philippines.
Department of Biology, School of Science and Engineering, Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City, Philippines.
Environ Monit Assess. 2025 Aug 26;197(9):1041. doi: 10.1007/s10661-025-14498-1.
Philippine coral reefs have significantly declined over the past 40 years, resulting in reduced coral cover and shifts in the composition of associated organisms. While research on offshore reef systems often focuses on benthic habitat cover and reef fish, limited information remains on post-disturbance macroinvertebrate communities at a local scale. This study examines the impacts of two tropical cyclones on benthic macroinvertebrate communities in Apo Reef Natural Park (ARNP), Philippines. Typhoons Molave and Goni passed through ARNP between October and November 2020, causing extensive reef damage, particularly to structurally complex branching corals. Despite observed benthic changes, macroinvertebrate abundances increased over time, primarily driven by generalist taxa such as camarodont urchins, decapod crustaceans, and ophiuroids. In contrast, coral-dependent groups, including filter feeders and corallivores, were more sensitive to coral loss. Multivariate analyses confirmed that macroinvertebrate community composition had shifted 3 years after the consecutive disturbances. These findings, supported by univariate models, also revealed strong associations with benthic cover such as hard coral, algae, and coralline pavement. The study highlights how bottom-up controls, through reef-scale changes, influence shifts in benthic macroinvertebrate community structure, with additional variation potentially driven by invertivore reef fishes. Continued monitoring of macroinvertebrate communities is recommended to yield meaningful information at a temporal scale that complements hard coral recovery.
在过去40年里，菲律宾的珊瑚礁显著衰退，导致珊瑚覆盖率降低，相关生物的组成也发生了变化。虽然对近海珊瑚礁系统的研究通常侧重于底栖生境覆盖和珊瑚礁鱼类，但关于局部尺度上干扰后大型无脊椎动物群落的信息仍然有限。本研究调查了两场热带气旋对菲律宾阿波礁自然公园（ARNP）底栖大型无脊椎动物群落的影响。莫拉菲台风和天鹅台风在2020年10月至11月间穿过ARNP，造成了广泛的珊瑚礁破坏，特别是对结构复杂的分支珊瑚。尽管观察到了底栖生物的变化，但随着时间的推移，大型无脊椎动物的数量增加了，主要是由诸如 camarodont海胆、十足目甲壳类动物和蛇尾类等广适性类群驱动的。相比之下，依赖珊瑚的群体，包括滤食性动物和食珊瑚动物，对珊瑚损失更为敏感。多变量分析证实，连续干扰3年后，大型无脊椎动物群落组成发生了变化。这些得到单变量模型支持的研究结果还揭示了与硬珊瑚、藻类和珊瑚藻覆盖等底栖生物之间的强烈关联。该研究强调了自下而上的控制如何通过珊瑚礁尺度的变化影响底栖大型无脊椎动物群落结构的转变，而食无脊椎动物的珊瑚礁鱼类可能会带来额外的变化。建议持续监测大型无脊椎动物群落，以便在补充硬珊瑚恢复情况的时间尺度上获得有意义的信息。
